About Writing English Translation of Old Hindi Songs

1. 84

   Iwriter1posted 2 months ago

   Hi Everyone
   
   I hope everything is going well for you. I have a question about a subject that I am anticipating writing about. There are thousands of Hindi songs. I am going to begin writing the lyrics of these songs in Hindi and their English translations through my hubs.
   Is it a violation of copyright?
   Can I do that for older songs from 1960 to 2010?
   Please help!
   
   Thank you
   Sourav

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   1. 87

      theraggededgeposted 2 months agoin reply to this

      I would think you need to check the licence/copyright for each individual piece.

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      1. 84

         Iwriter1posted 2 months agoin reply to this

         Hi,
         I appreciate your response. I have seen similar content written on other websites, but these websites are not owned by the producer or artist themselves. These websites also appear on search engine results pages. I am writing the Hindi lyrics in roman letters.

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         1. 66

            OldRosesposted 2 months agoin reply to this

            Just because other sites do it, doesn't make it right.  And it doesn't matter which alphabet you use.  You must check each song's copyright and obtain the proper permission to use them.  Otherwise, you are in violation of the law, leaving yourself open to very expensive lawsuits.

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            1. 84

               Iwriter1posted 2 months agoin reply to this

               I understand your point. What if it is the lyrics of a religious hymn and the lyricist has died more than a hundred years ago?

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               1. 66

                  OldRosesposted 2 months agoin reply to this

                  That is why you must investigate If there is a copyright and who holds it.  Just because the lyricist is dead, doesn't mean that their works are now free to use.  Very often their estate or other organization has become the owner of the copyright.

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   2. 94

      Kenna McHughposted 2 months agoin reply to this

      It's a matter of personal integrity with what you do.

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2. 87

   theraggededgeposted 2 months ago

   https://bytescare.com/blog/is-it-copyri … ong-lyrics
   
   https://bytescare.com/blog/indian-copyright-act-1957

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3. 98

   PaulGoodman67posted 2 months ago

   It goes without saying that copyright rules should be followed.
   
   However, even if lyrics are not covered by copyright, they're still likely to be flagged by HubPages and Google as duplicate material. They're interpreted as having been copied from elsewhere.
   
   You can therefore be punished regardless of the copyright situation. Almost of the assessments are done automatically using software. The software's default is to assume that you're a plagiarist.
   
   I ran into this problem early on when writing here, using lyrics from traditional Scottish folk music that were outside of copyright.
   
   I would avoid using lyrics unless you're just quoting a few lines and adding lots of accompanying commentary.
   
   Quoting big blocks of lyrics is iffy. Even if it's done in a legit way, there are lots of potential problems.

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